Tuesday, May 04, 2010

A.L. Maharishi - Three to Trade, Three to Keep and Three to Dump?

Here we are, one month into the season and we need to ask some difficult questions…Who to keep and who to trade or who to dump after 1/6 of the season? Sometimes there are players that simply start slow but will end up having great numbers at the end of the season. (Mark Teixeira…and no don’t drop him and his .139 BA and 2 HR’s in April…he’ll come around) But which players are the ones that are playing over their head and you need to trade while their stock is at an all-time high and which players are simply trending in the wrong direction and are just going to end up with a bad year and maybe the end of their careers?

Three to trade:Scott Podsednik - While his .359 BA and 8 SB looks great; he simply will not be able to sustain these numbers. His career BA is .2785 and his 30 SB in 2009 were the most he’s had since 2006 when he stole 40. His projections this year work out to 58 SB’s, not gonna happen! Jose Guillen - He’s on pace to hit 51 HR’s with 132 RBI and a .302 BA this year that may happen…in an alternate universe. His career high in HR’s is 31 in 2003 (7 years ago) RBI’s are 104 in 2004 and a .272 lifetime batting average. Let me say this loudly. Paul Konerko - 10 HR’s and 18 RBI’s put him in the league lead in HR and 3rd in RBI. Now I would have to say Paulie is legit to have good numbers at the end of the year, but not elite numbers. He hasn’t broken the 30 HR plateau since 2007 and he hasn’t had 100 RBI or more since 2006. I’m not saying he couldn’t have a renaissance year, I’m simply saying, if you could package him with an overachieving pitcher or other spare part and pickup an elite 1B like Mr. I Can’t Hit in April (Mark Teixeira) I’d jump on that in a heartbeat.

Three to Keep:Mark Teixeira — We’ve already established this…Tex has a history of hitting poorly in April. Last year he hit .197 with 10 RBI and finished tied for the AL HR lead with 39 and 122 RBI. Not shabby and he’ll do it again. Ben Zobrist - was given a contract extension on April 23rd for 5 years and the 30 Mil. Dollar range, Zobrilla is multi-positional and is locked in and will be given every chance to succeed. I believe there is a weight that Ben is putting on himself now to justify the contract. He’ll come around, he’s too talented and the team around him is too good, as he’ll find he doesn’t have to do it all on his own. Grady Sizemore - Will someone please tell Grady that the season has started? Barely above the Mendoza line @ .205 with 9 RBI and 2 SB it would be tempting to trade this 30/30 threat…don’t! His value has never been lower so what are you going to get for him? An overachieving Jose Guillen and a broken Kerry Wood? Last year battling through injuries Grady still hit 18 HR’s with 13 SB’s. The best is yet to come and you don’t want to be stuck with the worst 78 AB’s Sizemore has this year.

Three to Dump:Joe Saunders — If you can say one this about Joe Saunders, it’s this…the guy piles up wins without having other great numbers to go along with it. The last two seasons he has won 16 and 17 games respectively. Only problem is…his K’s and ERA are less than stellar…His ERA in that time averages about a 4 and his whip is in the 1.30 area. This year though…he’s not even getting the wins, he is on pace for 6 Wins, 67 K’s an ERA nearing 6 and a whip in the 1.5 range. It’s time to cut bait. Garrett Atkins — The logic was, a change of scenery will help him. The reality is, it’s not. Rookie Ryhne Hughes is now getting Atkins AB’s…I’m pretty sure that’s not what was expected at the beginning of the year. Garrett Atkins peaked in 2006 and his numbers across the board have fallen since then. IMO, I could see the Orioles releasing him sometime this year as they are falling farther and farther away from any kind of respectability this year. The kids are going to come up and play. Look for more of Hughes, Bell, Snyder and Aubrey later this year. Sean Rodriguez - seems to be in the manager’s doghouse. S-Rod breaks out on April 21st going 3/5 with a HR and 4 RBI and promptly gets benched and has 8 AB’s in the last 10 days. If you’ve got a bench, put him there until Joe Maddon gives him some rope. If not it’s probably time to release him as Ben Zobrist and Reid Brignac are eating up his AB’s. I hate to say it because he was my “Ray” of sunshine at the end of the draft for $1, but…

Bonus Player on the fence: Brandon WoodI have been rooting for this player for the last 3 years and waiting for his Ruthian power to come and save my franchise. Hasn’t happened yet, but I’m not giving up on him quite yet. I am believing that the tough start to this year is just that but he will turn it around and by the end of the year be at .270 BA, 24 HR’s, 75 RBI’s with a handful of SB’s.Well there you go…April is gone and May starts something new!